


It's Lonely At Night

by SoobinieIsLife



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Choi Soobin-Centric, Choi Yeonjun Is Bad At Feelings, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Smut, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, Sad Choi Soobin, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:35:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28731315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoobinieIsLife/pseuds/SoobinieIsLife
Summary: Choi Soobin is a Gumiho and is just trying to get through his lonely, secretive life peacefully.Choi Yeonjun is a human and just trying to move on from his painful past.The two meet and their fates intertwine with one another's. It seems like they've been destined to be forever in the other's future and help heal the wounds they both suffer from.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Kang Taehyun, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun
Kudos: 15





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> God I'm so excited for this!!!! I really really hope you all will enjoy this new ride we shall go on together!

A young boy stands alone on the terrace of the creepy abandoned house that is only heard of in horror movies. He's blank faced and thinking about nothing in particular as the light of the moon shines down on him. 

He has no life beyond the door of his dimlit bedroom, only knowing what his dear mother has told him about the outside world. The other kids would be afraid of him and hate what he was if they ever found out he existed at all. He believes her, only at first bothering to wonder why being himself is so bad and scary. He used to dream of playing with others of his age, going to school with them, eating lunch on a weekend with them, really just spending time with another kid in any shape or form. But he doesn't dream of those things anymore. He doesn't dream at all anymore.

Knowing he's alone, that his mother is fast asleep along with the rest of the world, he lets his small nine tails out to sway in the light breeze and relaxes at the freedom from holding them in. His eyes are no longer a warm brown, but a striking green. Humans would say they look like emeralds, the eyes of a Gumiho. 

He peers out into the darkness of the woods surrounding their secluded house and flinches slightly when his gaze lands on another small boy at the giant gate separating the house from the wilderness. His eyesight is enhanced with his natural eyes, so he can clearly see the wonder and curiosity in the boy's dark pupils. There's no fear or alarm, which confuses the Gumiho child. Surely this boy can see his tails, so why isn't he running away terrified?

The two children spend a moment staring at each other, before the boy at the gate suddenly spins around and sprints away. 

A sigh slips past the remaining boy's lips, and then he simply peers back up at the stars above him. 

Like always, the night feels like it's going to swallow him whole. 

He wishes it would.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter yaaaaay!!!! So excited to really start this story I've been wanting to write for a while and I hope you guys will love it as much as I do!

_Soobin stood in a field of Mugunghwa, a light breeze ruffling his hair and the scent of sweet flowers blessing his nostrils. The moon above was showering him with its beautiful glow, stars twinkling along with it as if it was a comforting reminder that the crescent wasn't alone._

_His white tails swayed along with the wind and Soobin had never felt more at peace than right now. He had long ago accepted his fate of living the rest of his life with nothing but the night sky to keep him company, ever since his mother had left him to lead his life alone inside a rickity old house in the woods. No longer did he have someone locking him up in his bedroom as they reminded him that monsters kept to themselves, that it'd be better if his existence stayed a secret hidden away from the world. All he had was the moon, the stars, and this field in his dreams._

_He didn't question yet why there was more flowers than usual, why the ground underneath him was flooded with the Rose of Sharon. He didn't wonder if it meant the moon was holding deep affection for him tonight. He just closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, letting himself melt into the relaxing setting. He didn't want to question or wonder at all. Not now, not ever._

_"The stars can't even begin to rival your beauty Binnie."_

Soobin jolted awake the second the voice spoke its words. He looked around the room frantically, heart thrumming in his chest. In all the years of having that same dream, not once had there been a voice or a single sound at all. He was confused and only half awake, the darkness in his bedroom blanketing him with a coldness he only had ever felt in his mother's arms when she wrapped them around his shoulders. It made his spine tingle with discomfort. He hated this kind of cold. 

He laid his head back down on his pillow, letting out a disgruntled huff. He had been sleeping so peacefully for once in a while, and now he was back to the normal restlessness as he tossed and turned for rest of the night.

Soobin walked down the long aisle filled to the brim with books. His fingers brushed the spines of the one's placed in the middle rows as he counted down in his head, whichever one to be touched last once his internal timer ticked down to zero being the next book to take up all his free time. 

He loved to read books of any kind, loved to throw himself into their worlds and experience a form of freedom he couldn't find anywhere else. He had started visiting this bookstore since he was a teenager and finally able to venture out of the woods by his own free will. His house had a decent sized library, but as a prisoner contained in the walls of that creaky old structure since he was born, he had already gone through every single page of every single book at least twice and was craving for something new. 

He remembers walking down the unfamiliar streets of this small town, nervous and feeling suffocated by how crowded it was with people. It was his first time being around so many conscious human bodies that would scream if they knew there was a monster among them, and although he had anticipated it and maybe even looked forward to seeing humans living their lives, anxiety was overwhelming his senses. His breathing became ragid, his forehead glistened with sweat, and his hands clenched and unclenched in the pockets of his sweater. He had desperately looked around him for somewhere quiet and less busy to catch his breath and get his nerves under control, and his eyes fell upon this very bookstore. It was tiny and practically looked deserted, a sense of calm immediately washing over him as he shuffled through the door. A older man was at the front desk, giving Soobin a small smile and nod. 

He weakly smiled back and looked around, his eyes popping with wonder and excitement as he realized the treasure trove he had found. He could already tell this bookstore would become his one and only love in the entire world.

And it had. It was.

He had spent the past few years in this one place, and he had quickly become known as a creep that lived at the failing bookstore. He had never went to school like normal children, because he was far from normal, and they took notice of that fairly quickly once he made his social debut. Rumors spread from the town all the way to the schools about Busan's freak. No one besides the shopkeeper even dared to look at his slouched figure sitting in the corner with a book shoved up to his face, let alone spoke to him. He never minded though, as he figured it was best to keep the most distance possible. It was what his mother had demanded of him up until the day she died, to never trust himself to a human and never let them find out the horrifying truth about him.

He didn't doubt her words, seeing as he kept to himself yet _still_ others found things to judge him about harshly.

Humans were tricky little creatures indeed. They could love one another so passionately, and yet if they found one flaw they could turn into spiteful beings. 

A long time ago he would say it was lonely, cry over having no friends, be angry with everyone for seeing him as a monster including his own parents. But he had learned not to do those things because no amount of anger, sadness or loneliness would change what he was.

It was useless to fight against something unavoidable.

Soobin stopped his hand from gliding against the spines once he had finished his countdown, finger wrapping around the book he had landed on. It looked to be another generic fantasy story, but one he hadn't read just yet so it would do. It was getting harder and harder to find books he hadn't read yet, but that just made the search for one all the more fun and time consuming. He smiled to himself and went to sit down on the stool set in his favorite spot. He opened up the book to the first page and began to read, ignoring the hushed whispers of fellow customers most likely gossiping about how much of a weirdo he was.

*

"It's about that time Soobin-sshi." 

Soobin hummed and closed the book, tucking it under his arm as he stood up and bowed to the shopkeeper. The old man was the only human he enjoyed the presence of, as there was a somewhat silent agreement between them that they were like old friends. Their odd relationship had reached the level of the old man letting Soobin take as many books home as he liked without paying, because by now he trusted Soobin to always bring them back without fail. It was quite funny how much trust had built between the two of them with so little words being traded throughout the years.

He said a quick goodnight before stepping out into the chilly night. The town's lights were slowly but surely dimming as each shop closed for the day and everyone went home to sleep in their warm beds. At night the town was pretty and tranquil, and it was even better when their wasn't a sign of life in sight until the sun rose. Sometimes Soobin would just sit on one of the benches and enjoy the quiet if he didn't feel like sleeping. He didn't care that it was one of the things he did that sparked a rumor about him. The way humans tried to make sense of a action so unproblematic was just amazing to him. At this point he found it amusing to come up with ways to spook people, no matter how simple those ways were. He could probably act like a empty husk and not move for hours, and still the humans would chatter away.

Tonight was a night he just wanted to crawl under his covers and melt away from the world, but he had kept his Gumiho form hidden for days now and it was starting to take a toll on him. He could never go for more than a week without letting his magic have a night of rest, otherwise keeping his true self locked up would become impossible. The last thing he needed was his form being revealed in the middle of town for anyone passing by to see.

He trekked his way back into the woods once he was far enough from town and swiftly shifted into his fox form. He was snow white, small bodied with the only big thing about him being his fluffy nine tails. It was ironic with how tall his human form was, how tall all his family's human counterparts were despite their true selves being so small.

Soobin was a weak Gumiho, because he had never eaten another human's soul. Usually the more human souls he ate, the stronger he could become and eventually if he had eaten 100 then, he'd become immortal. Centuries ago most Gumiho's would strive to be the strongest and be able to live for thousands of years, but after a while some family lines no longer cared to live for long periods of time. 

His family was one of those to settle for a human lifetime instead of sucking away souls. His mother had loathed their kind to be exact, and there wasn't a single day she didn't express that in every way possible. Pretty much since the day he was born, she constantly reminded Soobin of the monsters they were and how she'd die before someone found out they existed at all. His father died just a year after he was brought into the world, so the only thing he had really known was his dear mother's icy embrace and chilling voice. Sometimes she was kind to him, but only once in a blue moon and if she was seeking something from him. Most of his life with her was nothing but cruelness, screams, tears, insults and rage. 

When she died suddenly of a illness, he hated how free and happy he was to be rid of her. It wasn't right for anyone to feel such joy in their mother dying and yet that's exactly what he felt. Not that it didn't come with the slight guilt as well. 

But then, he no longer had to hear those repetitive phrases ever again so maybe that was a huge factor into it.

He ran through the woods, following the scent that led back to his home while keeping an ear out to make sure that he was alone. No sane human should be out deep in the woods at this hour of night, but he still had to be careful. Falling into a false sense of security would only fuck him over.

His fur and paws gathered specks of brown from the mud as it had rained the night before, annoyance prickling knowing he would have to take a shower and would most likely track the mud into the house he had just cleaned earlier. Just another thing to prolong when he could go to sleep. At the very least he felt more relaxed now that he wasn't using his magic to conceal his form. 

As he went up the hill that led to the entrance gate, the fog present thickened until it was hard to see clearly given the height of his current line of sight. Whether he was in his fox form or not, this part of heading home always made him feel a little uneasy. 

Once he was at the front steps, he shifted back and entered the house. The large wooden door shut behind him with a loud thud as he ascended the stairwell that led to the upper floor and hastily entered the bathroom. He peeled his clothes off and turned on the shower head, sighing pleasantly as the hot water hit his back and cleansed his tired body from any mud or dirt.

After enjoying his hot shower, he dressed into his pajamas and headed straight for his bedroom. The house around him was deathly quiet as usual, and to anyone else it might've been the ideal place to experience the stuff of horror movies. The only sound besides the blowing of the wind outside was the wood underneath his feet squeaking with each step he took. When he opened his bedroom door, the lighting of the crescent moon and stars surrounding it flooded around him. It was always such a beautiful sight, one that he loved to see at the end of each day. It always seemed to beckon him to the terrace, and he always fell victim to it without much resistance no matter how exhausted he was. He stepped out to completely bathe in it's glory, letting his tails free and eyes turn into their emerald green. 

He let his eyes wander to the front gate, a scene of a once unexpected guest standing at it flashing through his head. The memory came suddenly and without warning every once in a while, curiosity of what became of that boy and what he had been doing there in the first place riddling Soobin's mind. 

He wondered if the boy remembered him as well, if he was as curious about the brief meeting as Soobin was.

And sometimes, sometimes he wished to see the boy again. 

But he knew better than to wish for anything, because nothing he wished for came true. So he shook away that wish and forced it down deep inside of him.

Soobin flipped to the page where he left off yesterday, leaning against the wall in a attempt of getting comfortable enough to relax on the stool. It was even sunnier than the day before as the gleam from the sun shone down on his area, giving him a shower of warmth and making him slightly sleepy. There was only one other customer in the store at the moment so he wasn't being bothered by gossip just yet. He would enjoy it while it lasted, this peaceful quiet.

Quickly an hour passed and he was alone in the shop.

Well at least he thought he was.

A puff of fluffy brown hair peeked over the top of Soobin's book, the person who owned it stopping in front of him. At first he thought they were simply looking at one of the shelves across from Soobin, but when they didn't turn for almost a minute, he became curious. He lowered the book and his eyes were met with a young looking foreign boy, whose facial features were very unique and boyish. He was staring at Soobin with a large smile on his lips, which was very odd considering most strangers gave nothing but grimaces and teasing smirks towards the Gumiho. 

Soobin cocked an eyebrow and willed himself to speak, "Can I help you?"

The boy just giggled and held out his hand.

"Let's be friends!"


End file.
